Lehighton Area School District is looking to install protective fencing around the high school’s agricultural orchard to protect apple trees from damage caused by deer.

Officials said Monday night they are in the process of obtaining comparable quotes based on standardized specifications for fence height, length, materials, gate placement and installation requirements.

An initial proposal called for an 8-foot fence.

“There’s a whole herd of about maybe 12 to 18 deer that live behind the high school in the wooded area,” agriculture teacher Jordan Cook said. “This past spring, we had fawns born in the orchard, and that was not ideal.”

Director Denise Hartley questioned the necessity of the fence given the rural nature of the district’s location.

“We live in the country,” Hartley said. “There’s deer, there’s bears too, and snakes. So what fence can you guarantee is going to protect the orchard completely?”

Cook acknowledged no fence provides complete protection but argued the 8-foot height would significantly reduce deer access.

Director David Bradley, who maintains his own orchard, explained the purpose of the temporary protection.

“You want to protect the trees until they’re high enough and big enough so that you can take (fencing) down, because now the trees are above the reach of the deer standing on the hind legs,” he said.

The orchard serves as a hands-on laboratory for students to learn sustainable agriculture practices. Cook explained the educational value of the program.

“In the orchard, we have apple grafts that each student in agricultural education performs as part of the lab,” Cook said. “This year we also do tree planting in the spring. We have approximately 38, give or take, apple grafts back there now that may or may not make it through winter, but we have 12 good-size trees back there.”

Cook emphasized the program’s focus on sustainable practices rather than conventional chemical treatments.

“You can have an orchard producing fruit without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides,” Cook said. “We’re using what’s called holistic spray that uses beneficial microbes and fungi to effectively coat the outside of the fruit tree. It gives the fruit tree kind of like an immune system so that they can fight off any sort of apple scab before those things set in.”

The orchard program involves multiple hands-on learning activities throughout the school year. Cook noted that students participate in pruning trees in addition to performing apple grafting labs and completing tree planting projects.

“We are growing this,” Cook said. “That’s what we’re doing back there.”

Superintendent Jason Moser agreed Monday to work with Cook to develop proper specifications and ensure fence contractors meet district requirements, including background checks for anyone working on school grounds when students are present.